Together, Forever
by mk-lite
Summary: When Earth is threatened by forces that even Earth's advanced technology cannot hope to match, humanity must turn to desperate measures to preserve their race. Will Barry, Merlin, and Valentin keep to their promise to each other and fight together or will they lose each other and the ones they care for to the overwhelming threat of extinction?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, this is mk-lite. ^^**

 **I know it hasn't been since my last story but I've been working on this for a while and finally have the first chapter to share!**

 **I hope you enjoy it and look forward to more chapters that I've been working on. :)**

 **(The cover image is of Iron Man, and the game category does say Halo, but I don't follow either storylines. I just used a little of both for some inspiration)**

 ***IMPORTANT***

 **I recently put a poll on my profile to vote for future parings so I can see whether or not I should continue the League stories ^^**

 **If you could vote, that would really mean a lot for me! Thanks!**

 **And now without further ado, I present you the first chapter of Together, Forever.**

 **~mk-lite**

* * *

"Betray me, I need more ammo!" Valentin cried out, as he expertly maneuvered his Halo Reach Spartan on screen to crouch up and down rapidly. Laughing out loud, Barry moved his character to face Valentin's and pulled his trigger, effectively ridding his fellow Spartan of life. Their shrieks of laughter were cut off as suddenly a Zombie Spartan dashed up towards Barry. A shotgun round rang out in the air as the zombie fell to the ground in front of Barry. Looking up, they were met with the sight of Merlin's in game character. "You idiots really ought to be more careful," he chided, despite the smile stretching underneath his helmet.

Reaching into the bag of chips that the trio of sixteen year old boys had set up, Barry looked up at the clock, squinting from the bright light of the TV. Nearly choking on the mouthful of chips that he had stuffed inside his mouth, he quickly downed it with a gulp of root beer. "Guys, we've literally been playing Halo: Reach for the past three hours. It's two in the morning!" he cried out to which Merlin rolled his eyes sleepily. "You mean you've kept us up and forced us to play with you for the past three hours" Valentin said, casually picking a chip up from the bag and popping it into his mouth.

The trio of sixteen year old boys always had their sleepovers at either Valentin's or Merlin's home, as Barry's home wasn't exactly suitable for having sleepovers due to his parent's strict rules. This night was Merlin's home and they had to be careful not to wake his parents. Standing up and stretching his arms and back, Barry yawned as he felt sleep creeping into the back of his mind. "Guys, want to hear something pretty cool?" he suddenly asked, piquing the interest of a slightly sleepy Merlin and a somewhat attentive Valentin as he was on his phone. "What if, Halo became real? Like a massive alien race invaded Earth and we were forced to fight them with people who had to undergo augmentation in order to stand a chance?" Barry said, his eyes literally shining with excitement. For a while, the only noise was the soft hum of the Xbox as Valentin continued scrolling on his phone and Merlin looked at Barry like he was crazy, which there probably was a good chance that he was after all the pizza and soda that they had gone through.

"You realize that 70% of the participants either die or are disabled for life?" Merlin finally said in a sleepy tone, breaking the silence. "Always the party pooper aren't you, Merlin? Well, for your information, if the three of us went through the augmentation, we would be just fine," Barry scoffed. "What makes you so sure about that?" Valentin asked. "Because we are best friends, forever and always." Barry replied with a grin on his face to which Valentin and Merlin both nodded their agreement.

…

Nearly seven years had passed since that fateful sleepover, and Barry, Merlin, and Valentin had all grown up, studying their respective career interests in college. While Merlin was pursuing the art of science, Barry and Valentin took different paths through humanitarian studies. Technology was at an all time peak, as a seemingly infinite source of power had been discovered and harnessed from a lonely alien planet that scientists happened to stumble upon. This had provided humanity with advances in both military and social technology that no human would have ever dreamed of in the next couple centuries. For the most part, life on Earth was quiet and peaceful, as people were content and satisfied.

Barry opened his eyes as he heard his floating clock ringing its alarm obnoxiously. Sitting up on bed, he acknowledged the alarm and walked over to the bathroom as he began to wash his face. Looking lazily up at the mirror above his sink, Barry placed his hand on the mirror as it scanned his fingerprints. " _Good morning, Barry. The weather today looks to be a warm 78 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 38 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. Your breakfast is waiting downstairs and your parents recently sent you a video message back from home. Would you like for me to play it?"_ the AI built into the mirror asked Barry. "Nah, play the news for me instead," he replied. After a couple moments of silence, the AI opened up with the news channel playing on the mirror screen.

 _"Breaking news! Scientists have made first contact with what seems to be an alien race! While out on a far range scouting mission, three scientists have discovered an enormous alien ship! They are currently trying to relay messages to the alien ship. Never before has anything remotely like this been done before. This truly is what seems to be straight from a video game, as extraterrestrial life has never been found! We will keep you updated on their progress and communication!"_

Barry's mouth hung open as he tried to process what he was hearing from the television. After spending a couple minutes in complete shock, he dashed from the bathroom, almost tripping onto his desk and he instantly booted up Skype and started calling Merlin and Valentin. Merlin opened up his Skype to instantly jump from the sight of Barry's face super close up to his camera. "DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?!" Barry's voice boomed through their ears as Valentin and Merlin both winced in annoyance. "Yes, it's literally posted up on every single social media possible" Valentin said with a hint of awe in his voice. "Through my studies of science, never would have I thought we get to encounter life outside of Earth, let alone possibly communicate with it," Merlin replied. "Guys, guys! Don't you realize what's happening?! Remember that one sleepover all those years ago where I said that it would be awesome if Halo was real? This is it!" Barry said excitedly. Pushing his glasses up his nose, Merlin sighed, "Let's hope this doesn't end like Halo and they end up invading and killing us all here on Earth. We all have lives to live and our recent college diplomas shouldn't go to waste just because some alien race decided it would be cool to take over Earth."

Nodding his agreement, Barry then continued on with their conversation until they all signed off. Pushing his chair away from his desk, he fist pumped the air out of excitement of what was happening. For the next couple weeks, there wasn't anything on his mind but the alien race encounter. Then one day, as soon as he walked into his apartment, the TV whirred to life as the latest news projected itself to him. Eager to hear some news on the alien encounter, his excited grin slowly faded away as he watched what was unfolding.

 _"This is just in! From the messages they managed to exchange, the alien ship has invited one and only one of the scientists on board. However, as soon as Jared entered the ship, his body camera and any form of communication to and from him have been cut off! We are currently trying to reach him through any means need,— Hang on, we are getting transmissions from the scientist's body camera. Although we don't know what is being sent to us, we do advise that children be with a parent or guardian just in case,"_ the news reporter said before the footage switched with her on the screen.

At first the screen was black, before suddenly it was nearly blinded in light. When the light faded, the face that was there nearly made Barry gag. It's jaws opening and closing as it spoke reminded Barry of a wasp's mouth. " _People of Earth, if that is what you call yourselves, we are the Seventh Frontier. I am their leader, the Foreseer. From using your specimen that you so conveniently sent our way, we were able to learn your language and of the vast resources that your Earth has to offer. Our numbers vastly outnumber yours, and we have the means to take over the planet, as we intend to do. We do not accept terms of surrender under each and every single one of your vermin are nothing but dust beneath our feet. Prepare for your extinction."_ The alien then crushed the camera and turned to the scientist who was strapped onto an experimentation table, alien technology still strapped onto him, draining him of his literal knowledge and letting it flow to the rest of their fleet. Yanking him off the table and lifting him up into the air, the Foreseer growled before crushing the scientist's head in his claws. "Their bone density and strength are so weak compared to our superior anatomy, not to mention our weapons. This planet is as good as ours, brothers and sisters!" he cried out as cheers rippled through the ship.

Back on Earth, chaos had already ensued nearly everywhere. There were riots, fights breaking out, and general panic. Leaders from all over the world were already connected in a holographic conference as they began to discuss on what they could possibly do with this situation. However, just a couple seconds later, one of the scientists contacted the leaders. "Sir, we've just received an emergency data transfer requests from one of the scientists we sent up into space! It seems that he was able to hack into some of their data and retrieve some sort of mysterious fluid from their ship. He claims that it is able to advance our autonomy to match those of the aliens so that we may stand a better chance. Should I authorize the transfer and commence testing immediately?" Jared said in a frantic tone. After discussing in desperation for a couple minutes, they gave the green for Jared who then went to work.

Everything was happening too fast. Barry stumbled backwards, the alien's words still ringing inside his head. " _What is happening? Are we all going to die?"_ Barry's echoed numbly throughout his ears. He then became suddenly aware that his phone was ringing like crazy. Pressing the answer button, he was greeted by an onslaught of noise. He could barely make out Merlin's voice through what seemed to be a crowd. "Barry! Did you hear the news!? My friend in the science department just told me that they had received some sort of fluid that apparently can augment living beings! It's currently in the test fields, but thats not what I'm calling about. They are setting up drafting camps in major cities, in which Valentin, me and you happen to live all in the major ones they are focusing on. From the rumors already spreading, the draft is mandatory and primarily for being test subjects for the liquid! We have to-". But Merlin's signal was abruptly cut off and Barry was left listening to the dialing tone. Dropping the phone from his shaking hands, Barry began to feel his heart rate increase as he struggled to regulate his breathing. Ever since he was young, his heart was always known for being weak, especially when presented to panic and fear. He usually had medication for it but it was upstairs. His vision began to swim as he fell to his hands and knees, breathing harshly and rapidly. Before he could even reach the stairs, everything went black.

…

The Seventh Frontier had just began warping their ships to a safe distance away from Earth's atmosphere when they saw portals open above Earth and ships appeared through them, guns blazing. At first, the Frontier was caught off guard as Earth's ships managed to shoot through several of their scouting ships. However, they regained their senses immediately and began to counter attack, as blasts shook the very galaxy. "Sir, it seems that our ships are holding them at bay for the moment!" one of the soldiers manning the computer reported to the Head Commander, Commander Helevtic. "Good, how are we looking on the test subjects for the fluid?" he asked in a gruff voice, his white hair glowing in the harsh light. "We have gathered most of them in their respective cities. Should we begin testing?" the soldier asked to which the Commander nodded. Broadcasting the message to all the testing facilities, the tests began without further ado.

Barry stirred slightly, feeling a current of air wash over him. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he realized that he was now in a small jail-like cell. Standing up and pressing his hands against the bars, he frantically looked all around him as he saw multiple cells lined up through the walls. Just as he was about to call out to his neighbor, he suddenly heard a pair of footsteps echo throughout the whole corridor. Everyone fell silent as the person wearing a large white lab coat stood in the middle of the hall and cleared his throat. "Hello everyone, my lab name is 145104 but you may call me Jared. You may be wondering why you're here. Some of you came here willingly, while certain…precautions had to be taken for the majority of you," he said, gesturing to the prison cells. Continuing on, he began to walk down the corridor. "You are here to prove yourself to all of humanity. Now, I understand why that may seem extremely off the top but let me explain to you the gravity of the situation that we, as a human race, are all stuck in together whether we like it or not. As you may have seen or heard, the Seventh Frontier have recently declared themselves humanity's superior and wishes to conquer this planet as their own and put everything and everyone we know into complete extinction. A couple years ago, we would have stood no chance, with out regular and normal military power. But with the infinite source of power that we have built our world from, we can fight them off and take the battle to them. However, when it comes to physical combat, which I am sure there will be lots of in the near future, we are at the clear disadvantage. But one of our scientists have managed to deliver to us vital information regarding some sort of fluid that, from our studies, we think can somehow augment living beings to the point where we may combat these creatures and defend Earth. Now, who will be our first volunteer?" Jared said in a forced cheerful tone that was met with the overwhelming silence of the prisoners.

"We have rights! You can't do this to us! I demand to see my lawyer!" a young man cried out angrily, banging on the prison bars. Jared looked at him before signaling for his guards to take him away. "You look promising, you will be the first test subject of this center. You should be honored! As for your rights, the very fate of humanity lies on your shoulders. We don't have time for petty nonsense like that right now," Jared said with an unnatural grin. Desperately struggling against the guards as they pulled him out of his cell and down the hall to the testing chambers, the man's screams echoed throughout the entire hall before dying out and silence filling up the room once more. His face emotionless, Jared pushed up his glasses as they reflected in the light. "Who is next?"

…

Barry couldn't tell how much time had passed, as he was sitting in his cell, listening to the repeated screams and cries of pain and anguish that echoed throughout the cold hall. He was shaking uncontrollably with fear, his thoughts on his friends and family and how terrified they must be in the face of possible global genocide. Glancing at his phone, hoping to see any new messages or calls, Barry realized that the walls of his cell cut off the signal from his phone. Throwing his phone against the wall in anger, Barry leaned against the bars as he felt tears well up in his eyes. There were so many more things he wanted to do, or to say to everyone if he had known that his life would end in such a terrible fate like this. Suddenly, Barry heard a pair of footsteps that increased in volume before stopping before his cell. Squeezing his eyes shut, Barry's breath caught in his chest. "Barry, is it? Your turn. Now get up and follow us, if you don't want the consequence of not taking the glorious opportunity that we are setting in front of you," Jared said as his bodyguards grabbed Barry by the shoulders and pushed him towards the lab, despite Barry's best efforts to stop them. The sound of his feet screeching against the floor was heard throughout the entire hall before entering the lab doors that shut themselves with a slam.

The blinding white light made Barry flinch as he felt the bodyguards push him into small tube before slamming the door shut. The tube was completely white, with several surgical looking needles hanging from the ceiling. The tube was encased in glass, offering the view of scientists taking notes and working on computers surrounded him in 360 degrees. "W-what is going on?" Barry asked in a scared tone. " _Take off your clothes except your undergarments,_ " the automated voice scared Barry nearly half to death. _"If you don't comply, we will simply move onto other test subjects and discard of the useless ones. You have five seconds."_ Barry paled before hurriedly stripping down his clothes to his boxers, as he fidgeted awkwardly. Suddenly, clamps rose from the floor and locked themselves around his ankles. Before he could react, another set of locks shot out from the ceiling and locked his wrists, holding him in place. The needles maneuvered themselves down to Barry, controlled by a remote controlled panel that one of the scientists was manning. "This is going to hurt a little, youngster," Jared said before pressing a button on the control panel outside of the tube. The needles then slowly pushed themselves into Barry's chest, arms, and legs as the screams that followed were that of something that wasn't human. A computer worker typing on his screen nearby winced suddenly. "I thought you said that these glass tubes were soundproof," to which Jared shrugged before turning back to watch Barry. "Activating augmentation liquid dispersion," Jared said as he pushed a lever up to release the fluid through the needles into Barry's body. Barry had thought he had run out of energy to scream when he felt the liquid seep into his body. Suddenly, he felt like his entire body was being torn from the inside out, then smothered by magma. The pain threatened to snap his mind and soul in half but somewhere through all the pain and agony, he suddenly had a vision of when him, Merlin, and Valentin were hanging out together at their sleepover.

 _"You realize that 70% of the participants either die or are disabled for life?"_ Merlin's voice echoed through his head as Barry felt the welcoming coolness of death starting to creep into the back of his head, closing his eyes. But then suddenly, a spike of warmth made him stir slightly. It was his own voice. _"Always the party pooper aren't you, Merlin? Well, for your information, if the three of us went through the augmentation, we would be just fine." Valentin raised his eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?" "Because we are best friends, forever and always."_

 _"Forever and always,"_ Those words echoed through Barry's numbness. _"They did this to me. They are trying to take me away from the world I once knew. I have to see this through. I need to see my family and friends again. I'm not dying here, and I won't stop until I see them again._ It was at that moment that Barry's eyes flew open and he let out a scream of rage with so much force that the glass tube exploded and the needles flew out of his body. Shards of glass sprayed out in a ring formation, poised to impale several of the scientists. But suddenly, everything seemed to freeze in place. Blinking slowly, Barry cautiously stepped out of the shattered tube, still taking in the sight of the scientist's frozen expression of horror and the shards of glass moving in extremely slow motion. Jogging around, Barry managed to snag all the pieces of glass and managed to throw them in a different direction before everything suddenly sped up to normal speed. The scientists flew backward from the pure force of Barry's scream, but none of them were harmed thanks to Barry. Breathing heavily as he collapsed on his hands and knees, Barry could feel the power literally pulsing within him although his muscles didn't show as much growth as he imagined. Jared cautiously approached him, tapping him on the shoulder gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Never better," Barry replied sarcastically as he pushed himself up onto his feet. "Since you are the first test subject to show results like these, we would like to run a couple tests on you. Will you please follow me?" Jared asked before leading Barry to a room nearby full of training equipment. Jared gestured to the equipment as the rest of the workers gathered outside. Barry walked over to the heaviest possible weight set at 200 pounds and lifted it up almost effortlessly. Setting it back down, he walked over to the javelin toss and hurled it as hard as he could. The javelin smashed through the training area wall and continued through several walls before smashing into several pieces of metal. Staring at his hands like he was seeing them for the first time, Barry walked up to a punching bag and summoned about half of his strength, landing a solid punch in the middle of the dummy, sending it right into the wall before exploding in a cloud of dirt and sand.

Adjusting his glasses with shaking fingers, Jared could barely keep his excitement in. "A-Amazing. The results are even better than I could have ever imagined. We must take you to the training grounds to start your training for fighting for the fate of humanity!" "Hang on, I have to see my friends first. I need to make sure that they are okay." Barry said. Jared shook his head, "We need all successful test subjects to relocate to Devil's Bay as soon as possible. Our ships up in space are trying to hold their own to the best of their ability, but soon our front line of defense will be broken through and thats where you come in. You and other soldiers to be will be humanity's last line of defense. However, if you fall or if you fail to serve up, then you won't ever see your friends or family ever again," Jared said quietly. "You still haven't told me, what am I doing here, exactly?" Barry asked carefully. Pressing a button that opened up compartment that contained a padded jumpsuit, Jared began walking towards the exit. "Put this on and meet me on the helipad. You are about to become part of the future itself."


	2. Chapter 2

The wind whipping his hair, Barry gripped the safety handle of the helicopter for dear life. As they rounded a mountain corner, Jared pointed a finger to the skies. When Barry looked up, his eyes widened in both fear and awe. Ships that nearly filled the entire skies loomed over Earth as a galactic battle was unfolding. Explosions could be seen all the way from space as lasers and power blasts ripped throughout the sky. As Barry was watching, a small scouting ship was effectively blown apart by a responding alien ship.

"Every single passing minute, another scouting ship full of innocent soldiers gets shot down. But with people who have abilities like you, we can save lives and humanity along with it," Jared's voice crackled through the headsets that Barry wore aboard the helicopter.

Barry took this in with silence, as he continued gazing up at the fire filled skies. It seemed like it was just yesterday when the sky was empty and blue, with clouds floating peacefully by. Now all of that seemed like a dream when he took in the sight of a ravaged Earth. Suddenly, the helicopter dipped dangerously as the pilot frantically pulled at the controls.

"What's happening?!" Jared snapped as he clutched onto the sides of the vehicle for dear life.

"Sir, it seems like we've been hit by some sort of far range EMP blast!" the pilot cried out. "We're going down!"

Everyone frantically began looking for parachutes but then the helicopter began to spiral crazily as they began to plunge towards the ground. The sudden drop in air pressure caused Jared to pass out, but Barry managed to snag him before he flew out of the helicopter.

"Brace for impact!" the pilot cried out as Barry squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the impact. But after a couple seconds have passed with nothing happened, Barry slowly peeked out cautiously.

Suddenly everything was just like back in the lab, frozen in time as Barry could see everything happening in slow motion. Taking a deep breath, Barry sprinted towards the pilot and unlocked him from his seat and hoisted him on his shoulder.

Running over to Jared and throwing him over his other shoulder, Barry managed to take a running leap out of the falling helicopter and landed with his feet in a blur as he literally sprinted down the side of a mountain. But as he neared the bottom of the snowy mountain, everything suddenly sped up to normal speed and Barry lost his footing, sprawling onto his face as Jared and the pilot crashed into soft piles of snow.

A couple seconds later, the helicopter came crashing down a safe distance away, sending a tall column of flame and metal from the explosion that followed. The pilot sat up, rubbing his head as he looked at Barry confusingly.

"How did you..?" Barry stood up and helped the pilot up as he shrugged his shoulders. "Beats me," he replied.

Jared suddenly came to, as he sat up and looked around frantically. "How did I..?"

The pilot went over to help Jared up. "I'm not sure, but I believe it had something to do with Barry's augmentation." Jared adjusted his glasses as he ran his hand through his hair, starting to walk off in the distance.

"Perhaps, but right now is not the time. We must get to Devi's Peak. Usually after an EMP blast, the New Frontier sends out scouting platoons to search for any survivors so that they may use them as hostages or test subjects," he called out to them. That was enough for Barry and the pilot to sprint after Jared, as he had no signs of slowing down as they approached a forest with trees that towered above them.

"Winter just had to be at this time of the year," Barry muttered as their footsteps crunched in the ankle high snow. Breathing into his gloved hands and rubbing them together for warmth, the pilot nodded his agreement. There was no sound but the falling of the snow and their footsteps in the seemingly endless forest.

Then suddenly, Barry's enhanced hearing caught the slightest creak of tree branches. Moving so fast it seemed like a blur, Barry managed to shove Jared to the side before a spear with a glowing tip impaled itself into the ground right where Jared was a second ago.

"Oh no," Jared breathed as he looked up. Six aliens dropped down from the trees, surrounding the trio as they backed up against each other.

"Puny human survivors, you will come with us. Your meaningless life will serve a greater purpose for our future conquest!" the leader of the group roared at them.

"Heard that one before, sorry but I've already got a purpose to follow through with," Barry whispered as he focused within himself to draw out the same speed that he had both in the lab and when they were falling in the helicopter.

"Foolish test subject! If you won't follow us, then die here like the pathetic parasite you are!" the alien screamed as he lunged forward with a spear thrust. But right before his eyes, Barry's image vanished in thin air, along with the pilot and Jared and his spear ran through one of his soldiers who was standing across from him. As the soldier collapsed, dead in the snow, the leader clenched his claws together in anger.

"KILL THEM!" he screamed as his soldiers began to spread out. But just as soon as the words left his mouth, all five of his soldiers were piled in front of him with Barry sitting on top of them. "Didn't see that coming?" Barry grinned, hopping down in front of the leader as he charged at Barry. Barry tensed, anticipating the leader's punch a mile away but suddenly everything sped up to normal speed again and his fist connected with Barry's chest full on, sending him flying several meters before skidding to a stop in front of a tree.

"Hmph, you may have gotten lucky with those pieces of trash, but I am on an entirely different level. Now stand up and face me, human and I will give you a painless death," the leader snarled. Barry stood up shakily, shaking his head to relieve the dizziness. _"_

 _It looks like my speed has a couple second usage every once in a while. Note to self: use it only in desperate measures,"_ Barry thought as he saw the leaders fist driving down towards his face.

Reaching up, Barry caught the leader's fist in his hands before sweeping his leg under the leader and driving an elbow down on the leader's chest, causing him to roar out in pain. Before Barry could react, the alien reached behind him and pulled out a small plasma rifle. Pressing it against Barry's abdomen, he blasted Barry twice before he rolled out from under Barry.

Clutching his bleeding stomach, Barry winced in pain as the alien charged right at him. Somersaulting to the side, Barry gripped a tree and yelled out with effort as he uprooted it, swinging it like a baseball bat as he hit the alien head on, sending him smashing into a nearby tree. Without giving him a chance to recover, Barry tossed the tree to the side and knocked him down to the ground.

Reaching down and hoisting the alien up by his neck, Barry brought him close enough to see the anger glinting in Barry's eyes. In the brief last seconds of his life, the alien suddenly felt an emotion unraveling in his stomach. Something that he had never felt before in his entire life.

 **Fear**.

"Leave Earth alone," Barry's cold voice sent shivers down his spine before Barry smashed the alien's head against a rock, effectively breaking it open and killing it. Barry staggered back, his hands stained with blood as he breathed heavily.

Jared and the pilot slowly peeked out from behind the tree that Barry had set them behind before running over to Barry's side and helping him up. Taking note of his injury, the pilot and Jared leaned Barry against their shoulders as they began to slowly walk together.

"W-what's wrong with me?" Barry whispered after what seemed like forever. "Whatever you did, and whatever happened to you, I'm sure our headquarters has just the thing for you," Jared said reassuringly as they cleared the remainder of the forest and emerged out. "Speaking of which, welcome to Devil's Peak." Jared said proudly.

The entire base shimmered into sight as they passed through the invisible barrier that was set up all around the base. Vehicles roaring all over the place with hover planes landing and taking off just as fast were everywhere the eye could see.

Various soldiers marched around in formation, practicing their forms for the battles to come. A lush rainforest surrounded the main tower, which seemed to pierce the very skies with it's height and clashed with the dark skies with it's bright white color. Spotted all around the small islands that circled the tower were smaller towers of operation, with soldiers patrolling the areas.

"This is where you will meet the others," Jared wheezed as several soldiers ran up to them. Barry was about to ask what Jared meant when a solider approached him.

"Are you one of Knights?" the soldier asked in a gruff tone. Barry glanced at Jared, who nodded at him. Nodding slowly, Barry was about to ask the soldier what he meant when the soldier interrupted.

"Follow me then," the soldier ordered before taking off in a jog towards the main hangar. Jared shooed Barry to follow him as several medics rushed up to them and they were lost in the midst of the chaos that was the base. Skidding to a halt in the middle of the building, it was hard for Barry not to let his jaw drop in amazement. An artificial waterfall cascaded down from the ceiling, crashing down into turbine generators that powered electricity. It almost felt as if Barry was in a fancy hotel lobby rather than a military base of operations by the name of Devils Peak.

A cough brought Barry back down to Earth. "H-hi, are you one of the new Knights?" Barry scanned the appearance of the speaker as he thought of an answer. Her black hair tied back in a ponytail, an eager yet shy looking girl glanced awkwardly in and out of eye contact as she pushed her glasses back up every now and then.

"Barry, no my name is. I, um... I honestly don't know, but if you mean that I was forced into an experiment where I or any of my friends or family members had a say in, then I guess I am a 'Knight'," Barry said in a slightly angry tone. Smiling nervously, the girl reached out and took Barry's hands in hers, which caught him by surprise.

"I know things may seem bleak, desperate, and unfair. But just know that we are all here together to defend our generation and the countless others that will soon follow. So don't lose heart. I am here with you," she whispered as if it took all of her emotional energy to muster those words. Barry quickly pulled his hands away as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"A-anyway, I never got to know your name," he said while he face began to turn red. Giggling softly, the girl extended out her hand shyly.

"My name is Amy, it's a pleasure to meet you," Barry shook her hand, "The pleasure is all mine. My name is Barry, if you didn't get it the first time," to which Amy laughed.

The solider who had brought Barry bowed to Amy quickly then turned to Barry. "If you are done meeting the Captain of your small squadron, then we should get you familiar with the other members," to which Barry paled as he pointed a shaky finger at Amy.

"Y-you're the capt-" but the solider quickly pulled Barry along as Amy smiled and waved goodbye.

Barry was still trying to get the image of Amy as the Captain out of his head when he noticed that him and the soldier had stopped. "It would seem that the other five members are out on a mission already. Time is of the essence. We need to get you situated into your suit."

Turning to the solider, Barry shook his head. "What is happening? What are you talking about? Who are the other five? What suit are you talking about? What am I even doing here?" he burst out frantically. The solider only responded with silence as he continued to lead Barry to a room with a mechanical chair with a suspicious looking tube connected to it.

"Please, sit down. The faster you cooperate, your answers will all be answered." Barry cautiously sat down and slowly relaxed.

"With our technology, we are able to physically input fighting techniques and styles into your brain, meaning you will master all said techniques within minutes. This machine can detect what your preferences are in both combat styles and weaponry. Now this will only pinch a little bit," the solider said before he inserted the tube's needle into the back of Barry's head. Barry gasped as suddenly his brain was flooded with light and images.

Flashes of hand to hand combat, and various forms of close combat fighting seeped into his mind. When it finally was over, Barry collapsed to the floor, struggling to catch his breath as his world spun around him. "How was it?" the soldier asked. Barry looked up and gave him a weary smile as the solider helped him back up on his feet.

"It would seem you are ready to access your suit now. Please follow me," the solider commanded as Barry struggled to keep up with the images still spinning around in his head.

Walking out into a brightly lit area that looked like an airplane runway, with a center platform that had mechanical arms hanging around it, which brought back bad memories of the testing arena. "Please stand on this platform," the soldier pointed at the closest one as Barry slowly stepped on it. As soon as both of Barry's feet were on it, the entire platform lit up with a blue light.

" _Acknowledged, Test Subject #34. Commencing suit protocol initiation,"_ a mechanical female voice commanded from the platform. Before Barry could react, the mechanical arms suddenly began whipping out pieces of armor and attached it to his body. First, the platform underneath his feet folded inwards to lock his feet in mechanical boots, then then his legs were fitting instantly following his chest and arms.

As Barry looked at his own body in amazement as if he was seeing it for the first time, a helmet locked itself around Barry's head, with two eyeholes lighting up with a blue light, enabling him to see. Then the platform powered off and the mechanical arms retreated back to their original positions. The solider stepped aside as a tall man with white hair entered the runway.

"Knight, my name is Commander Helvetic and I run this entire operation in the battle for humanity. Your service will be needed in the defense for our race and we will do anything within our power to ensure our survival," to which Barry stammered his thanks and respect while trying not to seem to curious about the Iron Manlike suit that he was wearing like it was a casual outfit. Noting his curiosity, Helvetic laughed,

"The machine is able to read one's fighting style and powers and design a suit designed to empower those specific abilities. Take a look for yourself," he said as he conjured up a 360 degree mirror around Barry.

Barry blinked in amazement as he shifted and moved around to get a better view. His armor was a dark red, with his helmet visor being completely black. Turning around, Barry saw twin sword hostlers attached to his back along with various components for knives, small firearms, and more. Aside from it being relatively sleek, it had muscle indentations built into the armor which Barry found amusing.

His armored hands had a glowing blue circle on top of each hand, and another pair of glowing blue circles on his ankles. Shrugging it off to assume it was for aesthetic, Barry suddenly realized how light the armor was. The armor was surprisingly light, although Barry suspected the reason being his augmented strength. From the looks of it, this armor would crush a normal human being.

 _Normal human being._ The words rang through Barry's mind as he began to realize the gravity of the situation, slowly making the excitement die down. Helevtic called back the mirror as he looked behind Barry. "What perfect timing, it would seem that the rest of your squadron has arrived back from their mission. Try not to kill each other out there, we need each and every single one of you," Helevtic chucked as he left with the soldier.

Barry turned around to see five other similarly armored figures land in front of him in a row. "Your suit is designed to activate or deactivate with your mental commands," one of the armored figures said, his blue armor gleaming in the harsh light.

"T-thanks," Barry mumbled, already feeling like an idiot as his helmet unfolded itself from his head at the same time the blue armored figure's did. When Barry lifted his eyes to the figure, his eyes widened.

"Merlin?"


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin closed his eyes as he sipped his cup of coffee calmly a couple minutes later as Barry sat across from him, unable to believe what his eyes were showing him. "Well, it would seem that your dream came true after all, Bar." Merlin said, opening his eyes to look at Barry amusingly.

Barry blinked, "What are you…"

Then he remembered what he had recalled while in the testing tube which seemed so long ago. The sleepover, Barry's wistful dream, and their promise.

"Oh, you mean that. Well, it didn't turn out exactly how I would have planned it. It seems more like a nightmare, happening way too fast for me to comprehend anything going on. Only a short while ago, I was in my home, watching the news of the alien invasion. Now look at us, we're..different." Barry said as he extended out his hand, conjuring up a small crystal that was apparently implanted into his body during the whole augmentation process.

Merlin had explained to him that this crystal served as a portable armory for his suit. So in the field, they could call upon their suits whenever the time was right. "We're some sort of mashup between a machine, ninja, and a Power Ranger," Barry muttered as Merlin laughed.

"Do you not like the suits? I honestly am blown away from the capabilities it has to offer. While your augmentation chose to give you some sort of super speed along with mastery of close combat, mine gave me temporary invisibility with mastery of far range weaponry. However, I would have imagined someone like myself fighting in the front lines for all of humanity." Merlin replied.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I'm scared. Not so long ago, we were all just normal college students with normal dreams. Now look at us, augmented, armored soldiers who might just be humanity's last hope for survival." Barry whispered as he placed his head in his hands.

Standing up from his chair and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, Merlin smiled. "All is not lost, we still have each other. Just like how you remembered our promise when you were on the verge of death, I had the same vision. We will get through this."

The realization and guilt suddenly hit Barry like a truck as he jolted up on his feet, scaring Merlin half to death. "Valentin. Have you heard from Valentin?!" Barry turned urgently to Merlin, his eyes flashing with concern.

To Barry's despair, Merlin shook his head slowly. "I haven't heard anything from him, although I've been searching all this time for any information."

Barry's shoulders visibly sagged as he sank back into his chair. "What is going on?" he whispered, his voice on the edge of breaking as Merlin stood next to him in silence. Suddenly, the loudspeakers blared out. " _Emergency Protocol. New Frontier spotted down in Long Beach. Scouting ships have been already shot down and land troopers stationed at the Long Beach station have been wiped out. Calling all Knights to launching bay."_

Merlin shook Barry's shoulder as Barry shakily stood up. "It is time for us to do what we were made to do." Merlin said firmly before sprinting down the hallway to the launching bay. Shaking his head to clear out all his doubts, worries, and fears, Barry looked down and clenched his fist.

 _"We're all going to see this through. Not just Valentin, Merlin, and I, but everyone on Earth,"_ Barry thought fiercely as he took off down the hallway. Skidding to a stop at the entrance to the long runway he was just in, Barry shielded his eyes from the bright lights.

The five other Knights, including Merlin who had just finished suiting up, were already waiting on the edge of the runway. "Hurry up, newbie," one of the Knights called down as Barry nodded embarrassingly.

Calling upon his crystal, Barry slammed his fist on the ground as he activated his suit. His armor formed into existence, snapping and locking itself onto Barry as he lifted his feet to allow the armor to fully cover him.

Flexing his arms as the armor finished fixing itself around him, Barry finally closed his eyes as the helmet formed around his head, finally encasing his face in its black visor. Opening his eyes, the HUD popped up in front of him, the digital cameras displaying a virtual field of vision.

"If you're all done, we have a mission to take care of," Merlin's voice crackled through the built in radio in Barry's helmet. Barry nodded as he walked over to where the rest of the Knights were standing.

 _"Knights, your mission is to assist a small squadron of regular foot soldiers who are pinned down at the Long Beach Station. While the majority of troops have fallen, we will do anything in our power to rescue those who can still be rescued. The coordinates have been placed inside your HUD's. Prepare for takeoff,"_ the loudspeaker called out as each of the Knights readied themselves.

"Takeoff? What's th-" Barry didn't even get to finish his sentence before the enormous door of the launching bay opened up and the Knights powered up their jet powered boots, flying out of the launching bay and out into the sky.

Barry blinked, watching the trails of smoke from the Knights. Focusing on his suit, Barry imagined his boots opening up like the rest of the Knights. However, nothing happened.

Taking a deep breath, Barry recalled that Commander Helvetic had said that the suits augmented one's powers that they had gotten from the testing. If everything had been what it had seemed, Barry's power seemed to be super speed.

Closing his eyes and focusing everything he had on speed, Barry suddenly felt a surge of power shoot through him as he looked down at his hands. The glowing blue circles above his hands and ankles appeared as the blue light lined itself throughout his armor.

"Let's do this." Barry grinned as he took off running.

Everything around him seemed to bend and fold inwards as he sped over terrain and buildings, his suit glowing with power. An explosion behind him made him glance backwards, realizing that he had broken the sound barrier. Before he knew it, the map built into his HUD notified him that he was nearing the Long Beach Station.

Slowing down his run to a jog, Barry skidded to a stop in front of an old apartment complex. The blue light on his palm and ankles slowly faded as Barry cautiously took in his surroundings. From his childhood, he had remembered Long Beach as a lively, bright, and busy city.

But now all the buildings were empty, the ground full of craters and bodies scattered all over. There was smoke from several fires from buildings, as trash and papers whirled around in the dust and wind. Looking up as his enhanced hearing picked up sound, Barry saw the five other Knights land together not so far from him.

"Your super speed, I presume?" Merlin asked as Barry jogged up to them. Barry nodded, "I'm still trying to figure it all out to be honest," he said meekly.

Suddenly, one of the Knights perked up. "I'm picking up several hostiles closing in on us. They must ha-"

 _Shunk._

The Knight was suddenly lifted up in the air, a glowing spear penetrating through his chest as he struggled feebly for a couple seconds before hanging limply, all life from him gone in a second.

"SPECIAL UNITS!" Merlin cried out as the rest of the Knights took back to the air. Barry looked on in shock at the Knight who was just full of breath a second ago crumble to the ground in a bloody mess.

"BARRY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Merlin screamed at him a second before Barry's radar went crazy. The blue lights on his hands and ankles flaring to life, Barry vanished in a blur a second before an alien thrust its sword into the ground where Barry was.

Sprinting through their ranks, Barry knocked all the weapons out of their hands before reaching behind his back to draw out his two swords. Concentrating on the blades, he felt his power flow into them, lighting them up with blue power. Speeding towards an unsuspecting alien from behind, Barry made two slashes across the alien, effectively cutting it down.

Whirling his blades in a blur as he picked up his pace, Barry's eyeholes changed from blue to red as they switched to heat signature mode. That way, Barry was able to pick out the invisible units. Dashing in and out of their ranks, Barry managed to cut down every single one. Slowing to a stop, Barry looked up just in time to have Merlin tackle him to the side, narrowly dodging one of the Knights who landed in a pile of broken armor and bone.

Scrambling over to the fallen Knight, Barry rolled him over onto his back before gasping in horror. The Knight's visor was ripped off and his face was burned past recognition as he stretched out an armored hand towards Barry before going limp.

Barry stumbled backwards, as his hearing and sight became inaudible and muffled. His breathing became panicked as he began feeling dizzy before Merlin's voice brought him back into reality.

"We were fending them off from the air, but then we didn't know that the New Frontier would send in so many reinforcements." Merlin wheezed through the radio.

Just as Merlin finished speaking, an alien landed in front of them. But its attention wasn't on them and was instead focused on the two remaining Knights besides Barry and Merlin. Drawing a sword in each hand, the alien blocked and parried both of the Knights' attacks simultaneously. Before Barry or Merlin could even breathe, the alien knocked one of the Knight's legs out from under him and drove its sword through the Knight's chest.

Screaming in rage, the remaining Knight charged at the alien before being completely evaporated by a high focused beam of energy that came from another alien who had landed behind him.

Hissing, the alien turned its head towards Barry and Merlin, who had just got to their feet cautiously. "KILL THEM ALL!" the alien screamed as the rest of its squadron descended onto the two Knights.

"Hang on!" Barry yelled before picking up a surprised Merlin in his arms and activating his powers as the blue light shot through his armor. Speeding away from the city, Barry suddenly buckled just as they reached the outskirts of the city.

Dropping Merlin and crashing to the ground, Barry rolled until finally coming to a painful stop on the ground. Staring up at the ashen sky, Barry lifted his armored hand to his cracked helmet vision. The blue light flickered as he remembered that his speed had its limits.

"They will find us soon, we should get moving." Merlin came into Barry's vision as he extended his hand to Barry. Taking it and painfully lifting himself up, Barry suddenly collapsed back onto his hands and knees.

"All that speed must have taken its toll on you." Merlin said grimly as his visor zoomed in on the glaring horizon. "I already see them converging on us. What shall we do?"

"Don't we have any backup or reinforcements of our own?" Barry said, the growing fear in his voice audible.

Merlin lowered his gun and turned to look back at his friend.

"We were the backup, Barry," as Barry took this in with silence.

Standing up and helping Barry back up on his feet, Merlin drew his rifle. "Well, I couldn't think of any other way of leaving this world other than by your side, my friend."

Barry gritted his teeth as he saw the silhouettes of the aliens against the blood red sun. "No way we are going down without a fight," as he drew two small blades from behind him.

The aliens landed in front of the two remaining Knights as they locked and loaded their rifles and drew their blades.

"Your resistance has given us a bit of fun, but your pathetic bodies will be one of the many to be claimed by the Seventh Frontier!" the squadron leader hissed.

Before they could charge forward however, an explosion discharge caused everyone to look up at the sky.

Suddenly, an armored form slammed down on the ground in front of Barry and Merlin, causing the aliens to stumble back in confusion.

Yanking his armored fist out of the ground, the figure assumed a battle stance as he raised his fists to the squadron of aliens. The figure seemed human, but his appearance was obviously unknown, given the suit of armor that he wore which bore many similarities to Barry's and Merlin's. It's armor was primarily dark blue, with several faded shades of magenta around his shoulder pads, knee pads, and some streaks along his helmet.

But the most unsettling fact was that its fists, visor, and majority of its armor was covered in guts and blood, along with various burns from energy bolts and slash marks from blades.

The aliens shifted uneasily, as the mysterious figure titled his head to the side, cracking his neck loudly before straightening his vision towards the aliens.

"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you then" he growled before taking off in a blur.

His armored knee pad buried itself in the leaders face, smashing its helmet and sending broken shards of its armor flying all over the place. Landing back on the ground, he swept his leg under the alien, causing it to slam to the ground.

Without wasting a second, he flipped on top of it and drove his fist through its chest, skewering it with no effort. The rest of the aliens then began charging towards him, roaring in anger.

Standing back up and yanking his forearm out of the dead alien, the figure raised both arms to the sky before cocking them like a gun as an audible loading sound rang through the sky.

Sliding to the side to dodge an energy bolt, he flipped around and pressed a closed fist against the first alien's head before focusing his armor, sending a powerful blast that left the headless corpse of the alien sailing through the air.

Ducking another aliens blade, the figure leaped through the air, spinning in a quick circle with his arms outwards. Unleashing his built in gauntlets, he blew through the rest of the aliens without much effort, sending their guts and brains splattering all through the air.

Landing on his feet as the smoking insides of the aliens began falling around him, he cocked his arms once again, reloading them and allowing his gauntlets to slip back into his armor.

Barry and Merlin could only gape in awe as their savior began walking off.

Breaking out of his trance, Barry ran up to the retreating figure and placed his hand on its armored shoulder.

"W-wait! Who are you? Why did you save us?" he demanded, but suddenly felt a ripple of fear flow through his body as he physically felt the bloodlust radiating off of the mysterious figure.

Suddenly, he grabbed Barry's wrist and flipped him through the air effortlessly, slamming Barry on the ground as he cried out in pain.

Before Barry could even activate his super speed, the figure put him in a hold and pressed a small blade powered by glowing red energy against Barry's chest.

"Make another move like that, and you'll wish you had gotten slaughtered with the rest of those alien filths" the figure growled, his voice guttural and sinister.

Merlin appeared behind the figure with his gun pointed to the back of his head.

"Release him" Merlin said quietly.

No one moved a muscle, until finally the figure released Barry, who rolled back to leap to his feet. Drawing out his blades, Barry raised them cautiously as the figure slowly flexed his fingers.

Just before Barry felt like the tension would kill him, a holographic image of Amy appeared in his HUD built into his helmet.

"Calling all remaining Knights, return to base immediately as we have a brand new briefing soon." Her voice rang clear and defiant, unlike the shy and awkward girl he had met when he first arrived at Devil's Peak.

Taking one last look at the mysterious figure, Barry and Merlin took off, speeding back towards the base to report their latest battle.

…

Amy paced back and forth in front of Barry and Merlin anxiously, her brow furrowed as she was deep in thought. Barry had reported the disastrous mission, and how the Seventh Frontier units have upgraded themselves to better combat the Knights.

"We do not need to worry about the quantity of available Knights we have, as there are over several hundred ready for combat in this facility" an officer reported to which Amy turned to him suddenly.

"Those Knights gave their lives fighting for our survival. Don't pass them off as simple numbers. Each and every single Knight is precious to us." Amy said in a quiet tone that made the officer swallow and nod nervously.

Another officer rushed in with a new report as Amy turned away and took the papers from the officer.

"You two, get some rest. Good job getting back here in one piece" Amy whispered, her voice bleak.

Barry nodded awkwardly to which Amy gave him a small smile as he felt a blush creep across his face.

"Come on now, you lovesick moron" Merlin said with a laugh as he began walking down to their quarters. Barry turned bright red as he angrily followed Merlin down the halls.

Amy glanced at the retreating form of Barry, watching him as he smacked Merlin upside the head for possibly ratting him out in front of her. She had known that he had a gift the instant she saw him, but given on how easily those Knights were taken down, she couldn't help but feel a tremor of fear through the depths of her heart for him.

"Captain? Captain, are you all right?" The officers concerned voice brought her thoughts out of the clouds as she broke off her stare and turned to him quickly.

"I-I'm sorry. I was distracted. Please continue on." Amy replied softly as the officer then continued with his report.

Finally arriving at their quarters, Barry commanded his armor to retract back to the crystal as he collapsed onto his bed, the springs squeaking from his weight.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed across from Barry's, Merlin's armor was absorbed back into his crystal as he breathed out a long sigh.

"Long day for our first battle together" Merlin murmured to which Barry replied in silence.

"I could have saved our teammates." Barry's voice shook with emotion as Merlin looked on sorrowfully.

"With my speed, I could have detected those invisible units faster and rushed them all to an open space where we can fight on even grounds. If I hadn't just frozen over and taken the initiative, I could have-"

"Barry." Merlin cut him off with stern voice as Barry sat up, putting his head in his hands.

Standing up and moving over next to him, Merlin patted his friends back as Barry's body shook with the force of his sobs. After what seemed like an eternity, Merlin finally stood up as Barry finished blowing his nose.

"We should shower, eat, and get some rest. We never know when the next attack is going to be coming."

Barry nodded, as he shakily stood up and made his way to the showers. Stripping himself of his bodysuit, he stepped into the waterfall of warm water as steam began filling the room.

Closing his eyes as he felt the water rinsing off the dirt, sweat, and grime from his body, Barry let his mind wander to try and forget the horrific memories of what happened only a couple hours ago.

Gathering a small handful of shampoo, he mixed it into his hair, taking ease in the feeling of cleansing himself. But suddenly, the image of the Knight's horribly charred face flashed in his mind, his burned hand desperately reaching out towards Barry that caused Barry to open his eyes in shock.

His eyes were met with the remnants of shampoo still mixed in his hair and his eyes felt as if they were burning as he squeezed them shut in pain. Quickly washing it out of his eyes and scrubbing his body down, he donned a pair of sweatpants and a tank top that he found hanging off of their room's door.

Laying in his bed, Barry closed his eyes as he felt sleep overtaking him and before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

…

The sound of familiar voices stirred Barry awake as he sat up slowly, opening his eyes to the sight of Valentin and Merlin lounging on several couches nearby, popping chips into their mouths with their eyes were glued to the TV screen.

Refusing to believe what he was seeing, Barry rubbed his eyes as he watched the two of his friends laughing at their silly plays in Halo. Looking around, he saw that they were in Merlin's house, with their signature Xbox hooked up to the TV with Halo Reach on. The sunlight streaming in through the windows, it was all that they could have asked for at that point in life.

"Merlin? Valentin? What's going on?" Barry's voice echoed throughout the room, as if he was speaking from the bottom of a deep lake. His movements felt sluggish, and everything suddenly stopped completely.

The sunlight quickly faded away until the room was filled with black. Barry stumbled backwards, as Merlin and Valentin kept laughing hysterically, as suddenly their voices distorted into that of the Seventh Frontier as their skin peeled away and alien mandibles grew out of their mouths.

Their bodies twisted and grew until they were both towering aliens, with only bloodlust in their beady black eyes. Suddenly turning their attention towards Barry, they began making their way towards him as he frantically backed up against a wall.

Just as they were about to reach him, Barry yelled as his eyes shot open.

He blinked slowly as he stared up at his ceiling, the moonlight filtering its way through his window. His chest heaving and his body covered in cold sweat, Barry slowly sat up.

Slowly glancing at Merlin who was still sound asleep, Barry breathed a small sigh of relief for his friend being such a heavy sleeper.

Gripping his wrist to stop himself from shaking, Barry decided to take a small walk through the quiet base to clear his head. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, he slipped out of his room and began walking down the vast and empty hallways, the only sounds being the distant gunfire up in the subspace between the two nations.

It had been a while since he had a nightmare like that, but Barry suspected that it wouldn't be the last. He had never been in combat before, let alone having the fate of humanity resting on his shoulders.

Sighing wearily, he made his way to the kitchen to fix himself up a cup of tea, as that usually calmed him down. Grabbing a pot and pouring some water into it, he set it on top of the stove and turned on the flame, the blue fire sputtering to life.

"Nightmare?" A voice made him jump, as he nearly knocked over his cup in surprise.

Amy walked into view, illuminated by the bright lights of the kitchen, her round glass perched on her slender nose reflecting off the lights.

Barry breathed out a sight of relief, before rubbing the back of his head in shame and embarrassment.

"Yea, first one in a long time. Guess I'm just not cut out for this kind of stuff" he muttered.

"I used to have nightmares too. Before this whole war thing sprung up on us, I was enjoying college life studying to become a doctor. Back in high school, I held the most records ever in track and field, both among the boys and the girls. I had played numerous sports as well, so I guess that's what made me a perfect candidate to become augmented. But the first couple nights here were terrible, nightmares of my past and current life clashing, bringing me slamming back to reality covered in cold sweat." Amy said, rubbing her arm as she spoke.

Barry blinked, as he suddenly saw his Captain vulnerable for the first time, not as a soldier or student, but simply as a human being like himself.

"D-do you come here often?" he stammered. Amy looked up at him in surprise.

"All the time," she replied with a small smile.

For the next couple seconds, an awkward silence overtook them, as they both searched for things to talk about.

"W-would you like some tea?" Barry asked suddenly, startling Amy.

"S-sure!" Amy replied back just as suddenly, which startled Barry a little.

Barry turned around to pick up the pot of boiling water, as he felt a silly grin spreading across his face. But suddenly, he picked up the sound of metal clanking and his grin dropped as he whipped his head around.

A tiny metal marble rolled out from one of the vents of the kitchen, rolling across the floor to rest near Barry's foot. Looking down at it cautiously, Barry leaned in close before his augmented hearing suddenly picked up a rapid beeping sound coming from the ball.

"MOVE!" he screamed to which Amy looked up at him in confusion as he dashed towards her with his super speed.

The explosion that followed rumbled throughout the whole base, awakening everyone inside.

Merlin shot out of bed, all senses on alert. He glanced across the room and saw Barry's bed empty as a sense of panic began welling up in his chest.

Activating his suit, he located the source of the explosion being the kitchen with the built in super computer and flew down the hallways as fast as he could.

Merlin was the first to reach the kitchen amongst the other officers, and he frantically began digging through the rubble, looking for Barry. To his surprise, he found Amy first instead.

"Captain! Are you okay?!" Merlin asked urgently to which Amy nodded subtly.

The sound of rubble moving turned Merlin's attention elsewhere as he saw Barry push several blocks of concrete off of himself before he collapsed to the ground. There was several cuts and burns across his body, but it seemed the his super speed had saved them both from suffering fatal wounds.

Before Merlin could breathe a sigh of relief however, a series of multiple other explosions were heard through the entire base as the alarm system booted up to full capacity, the red sires blaring in the hallways and everyone scrambling around in panic.

"We're being invaded! Where are our Knights?!" Amy called into her personal radio. The crackly response sent a chill up their spines.

"The Knights hanging bay was the Seventh Frontier's first target! Majority of them were invaded by special units and killed off! What do we do Captain?!" the officers voice crackled over the static.

Amy looked desperate for a split second, before a grim expression overtook her face.

"Send in Blacklight."

The officer was silent for a second before acknowledging her command. Barry turned to Amy in confusion.

"Who is Blacklight? What's going on? What do we do?" Barry burst out frantically.

"Blacklight is our top elite soldier, but we keep him in separate living conditions because the augmentation process made him unstable. But other than that, Blacklight has over 1,000 kills under his belt, making him the deadliest and most efficient Knight ever in existence. This is the last resort, so we need to get to safety before Blacklight arrives" Amy ordered as they all took off running down the hallway.

Before they could reach the entrance to the main hangar area, an explosion sent them hurtling back. When the smoke cleared, the figure who stepped out from the blast zone made both Merlin and Barry gasp in disbelief.

"Valentin?"


	4. Chapter 4

Valentin had always been the obnoxious one in the trio of friends, always extremely silly and loud, never afraid to back down from an argument or fight. He was almost always grinning, and his presence brought a strange mixture of annoyance and comfortableness amongst people.

But standing in front of Amy, Barry, and Merlin, his expression was stoic. Dozens of scars covered his face, as an unnerving glow of bloodlust lighting up his eyes.

"V-Valentin! What are you doing here?! We have been so worried about you-"

Barry was cut off by Valentin's icy cold voice that sent a tremor of fear throughout every single one of his cells.

"Captain Amy, your orders?" His voice was deep and guttural, and Barry suddenly saw the image of the figure that had saved them earlier flash in his mind. But he shook his head, refusing to believe that his friend had been transformed to that.

Amy pointed towards a convoy of aliens landing in the arena behind them. Valentin nodded subtly, before turning to face the squadron that was slowly landing around them.

Slowly bringing his fist up to the air, Valentin slammed his fist on the ground as he activated a small crystal embedded underneath his shirt. Dark energy began swirling around him in a whirlwind as he began walking towards the group of aliens, who rustled angrily while his armor began fitting itself around him.

" **I am the Judge**."

Dark blue armor began locking itself around his body, his shoulder pads forming as streaks of faded magenta became visible.

" **Jury**."

Twin gun holsters opened up on his thighs, as Valentin dropped handguns in each.

" **Executioner**."

The armor finished itself up to his neck as his helmet began forming around his face, the black visor finally covering his face as he raised his arms in the same stance, confirming Barry and Merlin's fear as to who their mysterious savior was.

" **I am Blacklight.** " he whispered as tendrils of black energy seemed to swirl around his fingertips.

Barry blinked, disbelief robbing him of his tongue as he watched Valentin finally complete his transformation. The same faded streaks of magenta throughout his suit, along with the primary theme of dark blue running through the armor only confirmed Merlin's and Barry's worst fear.

Charging towards the squadron of aliens as they began firing their energy rifles, Valentin somersaulted behind a pillar as he reached into a small compartment built onto his thigh.

Pulling out a small energy grenade, he tossed it towards the middle of the aliens as they looked at it in confusion. A second later, bolts of electricity arced out, stunning the aliens in place as they hissed in pain.

Darting out from cover, Valentin raised both arms as he let his gauntlets blaze, bullets flying out in a flurry as the aliens were ripped apart from the unrelenting hail of bolts.

His gauntlets whirring as he switched modes, Valentin walked over to the wave of decimated aliens, before pausing suddenly. Reaching down, he grabbed one of the aliens and lifted it off the ground as it clawed at his armored hand weakly.

Its jaw had been blown off, so it could only gurgle feebly as it saw its reflection in Valentin's black visor.

Without hesitation, Valentin whipped out his gauntlet and blew off the aliens head completely, dropping its headless body to the ground to join its brethren in the afterlife.

Merlin and Barry stared on in horror and disbelief. Amy glanced at the two Knights, the confusion and emotion evident on their faces.

"He showed promise in the early stages of augmentation, but a couple days after his test, he began displaying signs of aggression, with an unhealthy desire to kill whoever or whatever stood in his way of achieving his goal. Although we can definitely count on him to help us win the war, we worry greatly about what he would go through to see the end." Amy said softly, as Barry felt a tear trace down his face.

"Valentin..what happened to you?" Barry whispered before feeling his breath catch in his chest as he caught movement behind Valentin.

Before Merlin could even think to yell a warning, Valentin suddenly ducked, as the special unit's blade passed over his head. Lashing out with a deadly kick to the alien's midsection, Valentin spun in a circle, grabbing the alien's head in the process and smashed its head onto the floor.

Brains and broken bits of armor shot everywhere, as Valentin turned to face a new group of aliens as they faded in and out of sight, whirling their energy blades expertly.

Letting his gauntlets retreat back into his armor, Valentin lowered his arms as he closed his eyes underneath his helmet. Dark red energy began tracing its way through his armor, a low humming sound emitting from him as tension filled in the room.

Suddenly, one of the aliens burst out of invisibility, thrusting its blade towards Valentin's head.

But just before the blade made contact, Valentin flexed his palm towards the alien.

The alien froze, as its eyes suddenly were filled with black energy, as it collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably before screaming in pure horror, sending a ripple of alarm through the rest of the aliens and humans alike as the aliens burst out of their stealth.

Turning his gaze towards the rest of the aliens, Valentin flexed his fingers as the rest of the aliens fell the ground, clutching their heads as their wails of terror and fear filled the arena.

"MAKE IT STOP!" one of the aliens shrieked, as he rolled on the ground. He caught sight of one of his blades, and an idea seemed to pass through his head.

Grabbing the blade and pressing it against his stomach, the alien whispered a prayer under his breath before plunging it into his midsection.

Watching their comrade fall to the ground lifelessly, the rest of the aliens picked up similar ideas as they began picking up guns and blades of their own.

Before Barry and Merlin could blink, the aliens all took their own lives in rapid succession as Valentin strolled over to the terrified trio.

"Fear manipulation and nightmares are my specialty," he smirked, his voice unnaturally calm and collected for someone who wiped out two waves of aliens that would have taken several Knights to deal with.

Amy nodded shakily, but before any of them could react, the base suddenly shook with so much force that several supporting beams began to strain as dust leaked down.

"We need to find any survivors from the attack and get out of here before this base goes up in flames. Knights, move it!" Amy commanded to which Merlin and Valentin took off without a hesitation.

"Captain, what about you? I can get you to safety!" Barry protested before Amy gave him a look that made him shut up.

"I'm no damsel in distress, and if you ever see me as a dependent woman, you are dangerously misinformed" she replied curtly as she slammed her palm on the ground, calling upon a hidden crystal in her.

White and maroon red armor formed around her body as her bright blue visor formed around her face, mechanical wings spreading themselves out behind her.

Barry tried not to let his mouth hang open in amazement, as Amy suddenly took off in a blur, sending dust blowing into his face. Wiping his face frantically, Barry hit the ground as he activated his own crystal, his suit of armor quickly forming around himself with the familiar blue light comforting him as he checked his hands and ankles to make sure they were at full power.

Scanning the rapidly collapsing base with his mechanized vision, Barry took off in a sprint as he zoomed around the entire premises of the base, grabbing what survivors he could before finally bursting out of the exit, sprawling onto the ground.

Rolling onto his back as the ground rumbled, Barry could only stand by and watch as Devil's Peak collapsed in a mess of fire and destruction. Merlin, Valentin, and Amy landed next to him with their own share of survivors in their arms.

Before they could even think to catch their breathes, alien ships flew down from the sky, their searchlights blazing as Barry instinctively shielded his vision although his helmet blocked out the bright lights.

"We need to leave, now!" Amy ordered as they nodded their agreement, flying and dashing into the forest and away from the remains of one of the few fortifications left standing for the humans.

The alien ships flew in pursuit, their scanners allowing them to follow the Knights with their infrared sensors.

Barry ran as fast as he could, carrying several soldiers and civilians in his arms, careful not to drop any of them because it would almost instantaneous capture from the Seventh Frontier.

Suddenly, an explosion ripped the ground in front of him, sending him flying backwards as the people flew from his arms and onto the snow.

Barry slammed into a nearby tree, gasping as he felt the wind knocked out of him. Scrambling to his feet, he felt his heart stop as he saw the Seventh Frontier converging onto the scattered unconscious civilians laying in the snow.

Activating his super speed, Barry was about to dash in when suddenly he was whisked off his feet and into the air. Stunned, he glanced up to see none other than Valentin gripping him from his armor as they flew up and away from the civilians.

"What are you doing?! Let me help them! LET ME GO!" Barry screamed as he struggled against the iron grip of the other Knight.

Valentin was silent as they flew over a barren field, already far away and out of sight from the aliens. Amy and Merlin flew alongside nearby, each of them still carrying their load of civilians.

Suddenly, Valentin released Barry, sending Barry rolling along the grass until he came to a stop as Valentin, Amy, and Merlin landed around Barry.

Barry clenched the grass tightly, balling it up in his fist as Merlin and Amy tensed up, sensing the mounting frustration and anger.

"Barry maybe we should-"

Amy never finished her sentence as Barry shot past her in a blur of blue light and energy, colliding head on with Valentin.

They flew across the field, as Valentin managed to kick Barry off of him, sending Barry somersaulting back. Landing back on his feet, Barry drew both of his swords as he felt anger and sorrow well up inside him.

"YOU LET THEM DIE!" Barry screamed at the top of his lungs as he channeled his energy through the blades, the twin swords flaring up with blue energy.

"Acceptable losses," Valentin replied calmly, brushing off a bit of dirt from his armored shoulder.

"Acceptable? ACCEPTABLE?! Just how far will you go until you get what you want?!" Barry yelled as he charged towards Valentin.

Valentin easily dashed in between Barry's frantic strikes, almost having fun at this small brawl. But those thoughts quickly faded as Barry activated his speed, his jabs and blows becoming a blur of lighting.

Amy stepped forward to try and stop them, but Merlin held her back. "I'd suggest against that," he said quietly.

Meanwhile, Valentin ducked a slash but Barry predicted this and managed to bring his knee to connect with Valentin's visor, sending him flying backwards.

Valentin seemed to be stunned for a second as he flew through the air, but quickly regained his composure as he flipped through the air, landing neatly on one knee.

He slowly raised an armored hand to his cracked visor, feeling over the fractured surface before getting back to his feet as he called upon his powers as the smell of ozone filled the air.

"You shouldn't have done that." Valentin growled as he began walking towards Barry.

"You're right. I should have done more than that. You deserve so much more." Barry hissed back as his armor lit up blue.

Just as the two were about to charge back at each other however, an explosion ripped through the air as a drop pod hurtled down, smashing the ground and creating a shockwave that send all the Knights and civilians rolling backwards.

Valentin and Barry looked at each uneasily, both of them knowing that they would have to settle this later as they both turned towards the drop pod as its hatch door opened with a bellow of steam.

Out stepped a humanoid figure, its body covered in a suit of armor very similar to the Knights. Except the armor was pure black, with streaks of glowing red energy pulsating sickeningly across the suit.

Even its visor was that of the Knights, but it concealed its face as it slowly began walking down the ramp and onto the grass. Straightening itself, the figure tilted its head as it drew a glowing red sword from its armor compartment on its back.

"T-they took the dead Knights and experimented on them, making them soldiers of the Seventh Frontier." Amy gasped as the rest of the Knights looked on at their former comrade with horror.

"Take the civilians far away. He's mine." Barry growled as he drew his blades once again.

The rest of the Knights took up their civilians in their arms, but before they flew off, Amy placed her hand on Barry's arm.

"Be careful," she whispered as Barry felt the blind rage that had filled him up before slowly melt away.

He nodded slowly, watching her take off and join Merlin and Valentin in the night sky. Valentin gave a small nod to which Barry responded back before turning his attention back towards the mysterious figure, calling out to it.

"Whoever you are, we can help you. I don't know what they did to you but if you just-"

Barry blinked for a millisecond, just barely managing to turn his head to the side as he watched his reflection flow by on the blade of his attacker.

Gritting his teeth in effort, Barry knocked the blade away before lashing out with a jab to the figure's armored chest.

But his fist only met the cold night air, as the figure vanished in a blur of black lighting, reappearing behind Barry as it raised its blade to deliver a fatal blow.

Barry yelled, activating his super speed as he too disappeared in the blink of an eye. He sprinted across valleys and plains, hoping to get some distance between him and his opponent. But then his sensors barely picked up movement to his right as Barry turned his head to the side as his eyes widened in disbelief.

Because the dark figure was keeping pace easily with him, as they zoomed past destroyed buildings and cities. Barry threw out a punch, only to have the figure dodge it, grabbing Barry's wrist and flipping him through the air.

This broke Barry out of his speed, bringing him back into normal speed and smashing through several walls of concrete. Dazed, Barry looked around him as he realized that they were in what remained of New York City, burnt buildings and abandoned cars scattered across the streets.

He didn't have much time to think, as the figure appeared in front of him and hoisted him up, delivering a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Barry flying across the street and through several more buildings until finally Barry finally rolled to a painful stop.

His visor cracked and armor compromised, Barry's vision swam as he slowly got to his feet. The figure zoomed in on him as fast as thought, driving its blade through Barry's shoulder as he screamed out in pain.

Spinning quickly before expertly landing a solid punch that sent Barry sliding up to a painful stop against a wall, the figure walked up to him and pushed the blade into the wall, effectively pinning Barry to it.

Blood dripped from his mouth and multiple wounds as Barry fought to stay awake. The figure lashed out, whipping Barry's head to the side as bits of his visor flew off with it.

Another punch from the other side broke off majority of Barry's visor as he hung his head, blood flowing freely from his wounds.

"Wh-who…are…you..?" Barry's voice was a hoarse whisper, blood gurgling in his throat.

The figure was silent, before grabbing Barry's hair, forcing the Knight to look at him. The figure pressed a button deactivating its helmet, as Barry's vision began to fade.

Barry slowly took in all of the too familiar physical features except for the glowing red eyes that shone down at the fading Knight.

"That's the best part of all, Barry. I'm _you_ ," the figure said as a malicious grin spread across his face.

Barry's body shook with the disbelief he was experiencing, as he tried to open his mouth to say something.

Anything.

But before he could, everything suddenly faded to black and he lost consciousness.


End file.
